A trade union leader claimed Rishi Sunak’s wife could pay a universal credit bill for everyone in Dundee if she “coughs up what she owes” in tax money.
Dave Moxham, who is deputy general secretary of the Scottish Trade Unions Congress, blasted Akshata Murty over her non-dom status.
It emerged recently she had not been paying UK taxes on overseas income since she is officially domiciled to India.
Mr Moxham blasted the chancellor as out-of-touch due to his wealth as he urged for more action yesterday to tackle the cost of living crisis.
The senior trade unionist said benefits payments would be the difference between being able to eat and going hungry as energy bills soar.
He added that “real change” could be made if the Tories commit to implementing a major windfall tax on multinational energy firms.
Mr Moxham told BBC’s Good Morning Scotland: “It’s a crisis that the government has to do something about.
“I guess it’s fairly difficult when you’re talking about a chancellor whose wife, if she coughs up what she owes simply over the last year, would have enough money to fund a decent universal credit payment for a city the size of Dundee.
“If the government is prepared to take action over the energy companies with a windfall tax, real change could be made. Frankly they don’t seem to be capable of doing that.
‘Difference between life and death’
“Come October, we will see people dying from fuel poverty. That number will increase. For some people we’re talking the difference between life and death.”
Rishi Sunak also came under fire after it emerged he held a US Green Card for some of his tenure as chancellor.
The chancellor referred himself to Boris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial interests with a probe now launched.
It was also reported that Mr Sunak was a beneficiary of trusts in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands to help Ms Murty’s family’s tax interests.
The chancellor’s wife said she would pay tax on overseas profits going forward to stop the issue becoming a distraction for her husband.
SNP MP Kirsten Oswald said Mr Sunak must publish his own tax returns to ensure “transparency and trust”.